Thursday 2 January 2014

Favourite Makeup Products of 2013

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a wonderful time bringing in 2014 and are pumped and ready for the new year. I've noticed that over 2013 there have been a few makeup products (maybe more than a few!) that have been faithful favourites all year long. Whether it be their impressive pigmentation, their amazing lasting power or their reliability, all of the products on this list have thoroughly impressed me.

The following beauty items have been on high rotation in my makeup bag and many of them are repurchases–and I can definitely see myself using them well into 2014 and beyond!

So without further ado, here are the makeup products that have earned their place as my top beauty essentials for 2013.


Best Face Forward



I never used to wear primer (except at night for special events), but after trying this amazing one that I got free from a deal TheBalm were running earlier this year, it has become a regular fixture in my beauty routine. It makes my skin feel super soft and smooth, fills in any pores or fine lines, and my foundation glides on when I use it. I've nearly finished this tube and I'm trying to get every last bit of it out–for $35, it's a bit exxy! But trust me, it's worth every cent.

Oh my goodness, the love I have for this foundation. For those of you who caught my best of 2012 beauty products post, you'll remember that the Match Perfection made it onto that list as well. It's just an amazing all rounder, it goes on smoothly, lets my skin breathe, is lightweight but still has great medium coverage and can be layered without streaking for a fuller coverage look. 

This foundation gets a bit of a hard time compared to the Colorstay, but this one is a winner for me! It's a heavier foundation with medium to full coverage, so it's great when my skin is chucking a bit of a hissy fit and looking a bit red in places. I normally use this at night time as well, as the foundation doesn't give my skin a white cast under a camera flash. 

It's Not That Complex-ion



Estee Lauder Trio - Silky Powder Blush in "11 Nude Rose", Soft Matte Bronzer in "Bronze Goddess" and Shimmer Powder in "01 Gold Pearl" (Trio no longer available)
This trio was actually bought by my mum a while back and after barely using it, she gave it to me. Thinking it was a more "mature" makeup product, I didn't use it for the longest time until I needed a bronzer without any shimmer in it (which is pretty difficult to find!) and fell in love with it. I swirl my brush in the blush and the bronzer to create my own shade, which works as both a blush and contour powder for my cheeks.

This highlighting cream is so subtle and lovely (no disco ball cheekbones!) and is really easy to apply. The smooth formula glides on, blends really well and looks really natural. Want the whole glowing skin thing? This is the best highlighter I've come across so far (bar Benefit's High Beam, but this is much cheaper!).

I bought this after hearing all the hype about it on YouTube, and trust me, it is worth the hype! When you first apply it, it will look ridiculously light against your skin, but it blends really well and is absolutely amazing at brightening up the under eye area.

I've repurchased this product at least four times now after buying it for the first time last year and I am yet to find a concealer that I like more. It covers redness and blemishes really well but doesn't feel heavy at all on the skin. I often take this in my bag when I go out for touch ups, but I rarely need to as the lasting power of this stuff is pretty impressive. 

Eyes On You



This is seriously an incredible dupe for the Benefit Brow Zings and it's just over $10! This handy little palette comes with a brow wax and powder, a little angled brush and mini tweezers. It's super easy to use, creates a natural brow look and stays all day (and longer!). After being a brow pencil sort of girl, this has literally changed my life one brow at a time! (Seriously, go get this, it's amazing).

As you can probably see from the picture, I've hit pan on all four of the little champagne gold shadow areas, and with good reason. It is my absolute favourite shade to highlight my inner corners with. I do use the other colours in the palette on occasion too, to create a daytime smokey eye, but that gorgeous gold shade is used almost everyday. 

When I couldn't be bothered with doing a full eyeshadow look but still wanted a little shine to my eyes, I would always reach for this gorgeous cream shadow. I'd literally just blend it over my eyelids and along my lower lash line with my ringer fingertip and everything would be peachy! Plus the actual colour itself is a stunning metallic bronze that looks amazing under the light. No fuss makeup? Yes please!

For those of you that follow my blog, I'm a massive fan of the winged eyeliner look (and by massive, I mean I wear it pretty much everyday!) and after all of the liners I've tried, this is so far my top pick. It does tend to smudge a tiny bit after a few hours of wear onto my lower lash line, but it's nothing a quick touch up can't fix.

Having the short, straight lashes that I do, this mascara does a pretty good job of making it look like, yes, I do have eyelashes. The small, tapered wand gets every little lash and I can easily coat the tops of my lashes without getting any mascara on my eyelid, which is a win for me!

Lip Sync



I've pretty much tried all of the flavours in the Baby Lips range (and used them all up to the end!) and this is the one that I'm currently using. I just keep it in my bag for easy access and it does a great job of keeping my lips soft and smooth. Plus it smells delicious and this particular one actually gives my lips a subtle red stain, which is an awesomely low maintenance look.

Rimmel London Colour Show Off Lipstick in "030 Tell No One" (Discontinued)
 I bought this when it was just about to be discontinued and I'm kind of disappointed that you can't get it anymore. It's a gorgeous soft orange colour and has a semi-matte/satin finish. It's really hard for me to find orange-toned lip colours that suit me, so here's hoping that this one lasts!

For the days when I want a pop of colour but don't want a classic red, this bright orange-red is an awesome alternative. It looks fab with winged liner and an all black and white outfit paired with gold accessories. Plus it's a matte colour, which looks super chic.

This is such a beautiful old school red, it's deeper than your standard fire engine red and a whole lot classier (though I still adore my fire engine reds!). It just has that Old Hollywood feel to it, you know? This baby glides on and has a gorgeous semi-matte finish. Plus it's pretty no fuss for a matte lippy, I can pretty much pop it on and not need to reapply for hours.

If you don't have this in your life already (um, what are you doing?) then you need to get one of these, quick sticks! This is the most amazing matte lip lacquer I have ever popped on my pout and the lasting power is ridiculously good. I don't need to praise this anymore, get one and see for yourself.

For me, this is that perfect "my lips but better" shade. It's a lovely mauve-y pink that goes on like a lipgloss but has the pigmentation of a lipstick. You do need a bit of patience to apply it though and you'll definitely need a mirror. But the doe-foot applicator does make the process super easy.

This is probably the prettiest pink lip colour I've ever used. It looks like a Barbie pink, but it's much more subtle on and creates a lovely, feminine and innocent-looking pink lip. Plus the stain lasts all day and you can apply it like a lip balm (no mirror or precision required!).

What products did you love using this year? Let me know in the comments below!
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5 comments

  1. Where do I get that brow kit?
    I've been on the hunt for a dupe for my browzings!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Carolyn! You can get the Models Prefer range at Priceline which I think is probably the Aussie equivalent of Ulta/Boots. Here's the link to the brow kit online: http://www.priceline.com.au/index.php/cosmetics/eyes/eyebrow/essential-brow-kit-1.0-ea xx

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  2. Happy New Year, Jessica-Anne! I love the Apocalips in Celestial too! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy New Year to you too Ty! It's such a gorgeous colour, the perfect day-to-day pink! xx

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  3. such a cool post!
    It would be cool if you could swatch those lip products :)

    xx, rebecca
    awayinparadise.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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